To Die For
by Seoid
Summary: Tyr and Harper find a disc that answers and creates questions about Trance's home
1. Part Un

  
To Die For  
Note: This is my first Andromeda fic, so be nice! and Anastashia, I corrected the mistake. Thanks for telling me!!  
  
Captain Dylan Hunt ran his eyes over the crew. One of them was missing. "Rommie," he asked, "Where is Trance?"  
"Still in her room." Dylan decided to give her a little more time, but after five minutes he sent Tyr after her.  
Although the Nietzschean thought collecting officers was below him, he had to admit that he was curious. No one had gotten a glimpse of Trance's room-except Andromeda, of course. But all of his visits to hydroponics hadn't prepared him for this. The floor was a carpet of aquamarine moss, with ferns and trees growing everywhere in every shade of blue. A dozen types of fruit, all purple, were blossoming. Tyr stepped into the exotic forest, and felt something crunch under his boot. Looking down, he saw a shiny disc, similar to the ones he had seen Harper use. Tyr tucked it into his pocket, wondering how it got into Trance's room.   
The little purple alien would blend perfectly in this environment, but he focused on the sound of her breathing. He spotted her in a tall tree, hanging by her tail. Several yellow snakes slithered around the trunk. Tyr bent over to examine them. They seemed to be healing the tree, repairing the damage age had caused. Suddenly Andromeda's holographic image appeared, lips pursed. "I thought you were retrieving Trance, not playing with her pets."  
"I was...distracted." Tyr said, brushing a beetle off his shoulder.  
"I'm sure," said Rommie, amused. "Just wake her up, okay? We need her if we want to get anything done today." The hologram disappeared. Tyr shook his head and poked the sleeping alien, causing her to sway from side to side. He sighed, and unwrapped her tail from around the branch. Trance fell to the ground with an "ouch." Tyr was already out the door, calling "Report to the main deck," over his shoulder.  



	2. Part Duex

Trance knew the others wouldn't know the difference between her day clothes and her night ones, so she rushed out in her pajamas. Her mind kept repeating one thing: Tyr had been in her room! Her cheeks burned purple with embarrassment. She was just glad it had been the Nietzschean. The others would have asked questions, been alarmed or fascinated with her surroundings, but Tyr wasn't interested in things like that. Harper and Dylan and Rev however, were. Maybe Beka as well. But there was no time to dwell on that. She was late! Now that she thought about it, she had never overslept before. Trance made a note to ask Harper if those "dulce de leches" they had last night always made a person so sleepy.  
  
When Trance hurried in Dylan paused and nodded toward his young officer, then finished his lecture on Tiraun customs. The alien species had very strict social rules, and he did not want anyone making a faux pas around the soon-to-be Commonwealth members. "Trance, Rommie, I want you two to come with me." Trance was a little wary of going down to the strange planet, but felt she needed to make up for this morning.  
  
"Sure, Dylan. Should I bring anything? Food? Weapons?"  
  
"I'm sure that won't be necessary," Andromeda answered for him. "The Tirauns are a very simple people. Quite primitive."  
  
"That's not very nice. Just because they're a little behind, doesn't mean they won't catch up! Now, when do we go?"  
  
Dylan gave her a smile. "Right now. That is, if Harper's fixed the space module."  
  
"Right. About that…I haven't exactly gotten around to it yet." The crew gave him a look. "Okay! Okay! I'll go fix it. Of course, I'll need a little music, maybe a snack…" Harper started off to the kitchen. Beka intercepted him and turned him around, escorting him towards the rear deck. "But Beka! It's so boring! I'm a genius. This is like, stuff for the androids to do! I mean…" His voice trailed off when they exited the room.  
The others dispersed, and Trance walked around, looking for something to do. There was a book she had been meaning to read. Harper had given it to her. What was it called? Oh yes. "Green Eggs and Ham." She skipped off, humming to herself.   



	3. Part Trois

Sorry it took so long! Now that it is the weekend, expect chapter 4 before Monday.  
  
Part 3  
  
Harper was installing the landing program he had created especially for this module. The small ship had trouble on windy terrain. He looked up when Tyr entered the room.  
"And what brings my favorite mercenary to this side of the 'ship?" Harper asked.  
  
"I found this." Tyr held out a small disc. "I wanted to know what was on it. Do you think you can get it to work?"  
  
"That? I'm sure whatever it is, Seamus Harper can crack it!" He reached up for the disc and examined it. "Oh, this is the good stuff. Very high-tech. Of course, not as good as Andromeda, but I can work around that. Give me twenty minutes." Tyr nodded and left him to his job. As soon as Harper had inserted the disc into the computer, Trance walked in.  
"Harper, have you seen my book? I can't find it."  
  
"Which book, sweets?"  
  
"The one by that doctor. Hey, what are you doing? I thought you were supposed to be working on our module."  
  
"I'm just doin' a little homework for Tyr. Wanna see?" Harper pushed a button, and a name, license, and address along with three images appeared on the screen.  
  
"Harper!" Trance screeched. "That's mine!" She reached into the computer and pulled out the disc. The information on the screen disappeared. "Tell that-that- well, that really bad guy, not to touch my things!" She stormed off, and Harper heard her mutter, "First he steals my book, and now my discs!" He shook his head. That was one weird alien. Cute, but weird.  
  
Meanwhile, Tyr had gotten impatient. He returned to Harper, only to find him working on the module again! "What are you doing? Don't tell me you've finished already."  
  
Harper smirked. "Why of course I have! And in half the time I thought it would take."  
  
"Then where is it?"  
  
"Trance took it. 'Was real mad, too. Just where did you find that thing? She said it was hers."  
  
"It was just lying on the ground. I had no way of knowing whom it belonged to. Do you remember what was on it?"  
  
"As a matter of fact I…don't. But I always save everything, even before I read it. I have all the contents of the disc stored in my computer."  
  
"Well good. Bring it up on the screen." Harper grumbled about being ordered, but he was curious himself. What was on the disc? The same information he had seen before came up.  
  
"What do those numbers mean?" Tyr asked.  
  
"Well, the first ones show the license, meaning that the second set of numbers is a starship. I don't recognize the name or the images, though two of them look like mini-Trances."  
  
"The third looks human. Could that be the captain of the ship?"  
  
"Quite possibly. Why don't you have Andromeda run a scan on them? She could tell you how to contact the ship, and maybe find birth records of the little ones." Tyr nodded, and went to the main bridge, where Rommie's image was on the main screen. "Can you send a message to this starship?" Tyr inserted the information into her computer.  
After a few moments, Rommie said, "My database tells me there is no such ship. However, the name here is that of a human, being held in a prison on Dorsetti."  
  
"What about the images?" The human came on screen.  
  
"This is the man in prison. As for other two," The two purple images came on, "I cannot find anything. It is possible they are not real."  
  
"You mean, someone made a digital image?"  
  
"That is the only thing I can think of. If they are not in the databases, they cannot exist."  
  
"What about Trance then?" Tyr questioned. "She isn't in your database."  
  
Rommie frowned. "Your point is a good one. Maybe these beings are one of her kind, since we know nothing of them."  
  
"Alright, I can see that. Why is this human imprisoned?"  
  
"He let a primitive species know of space and other beings before they discovered it for themselves. On Dorsetti, that is a serious crime. He was sentenced for life."  
  
"The species he contacted?" Tyr had a gut feeling that wherever this human had been, it was where Trance came from.  
  
"Unknown. The location was either not recorded or has been erased." Tyr agreed and left to do some thinking.   
Carefully, he weighed his options. He could confront Trance right now, but she had a way of slipping around him. He couldn't even kill her! So he had to bring someone with him….someone she trusted. Dylan was no good, he would say to mind their own business and let Trance do the right thing. Rev Bem would only add to that perspective. Tyr honestly thought Beka wouldn't care. As long as she gets the job done, what does it matter where she comes from? Harper was the only logical choice. He was close to Trance, and curious enough to not care about privacy. Tyr sighed. It seemed he would be working with the twit once again!  



	4. Part Quatre

Part 4  
  
Glancing down, Harper thought about what Tyr had told him. It made sense, and he wanted to know about the disc as much as Tyr, maybe more. But he really didn't know if confronting Trance was the way to do it. He'd seen her get mad more times than he cared to. What other option was there? Only two people knew about the disc, Trance, and the imprisoned man. Wait-the man! What was his name? Harper looked at his computer. Sheen, that was it. He was their key. "Tyr," Harper began, "you're right about Trance. Getting her to talk'll be tricky. But we have another source, so to speak: Sheen!"  
  
"Who?" Tyr asked.  
  
"The human. You know, the guy who supposedly picked up our Trance? We can contact him. Get him to spill his guts about what he did." Tyr nodded, liking this idea.  
  
"Can you set up a com. link? And without Rommie finding out?"  
  
"Why Tyr, you insult me with your lack of faith."  
  
Tyr rolled his eyes. "Just do it, okay?" He left Harper to do his work.  
  
When the Nietzschean had left, Harper formed a communications link. It would be crude, but it would work. He asked Rommie to enforce 'rivacy mode'. He had to get by a few security systems, but he managed to establish a contact into Sheen's prison. A weary-looking human appeared on the screen He had large glasses which seemed to be much to big for his tiny head. But the hard look in his eyes gave him a small edge.  
  
"What do you need?" He asked with a hoarse voice.  
  
Harper cleared his throat. He hadn't really planned what he would say. "I, uh, I was wondering if you could tell me, what happened prior to your uh, incarceration?"  
  
The man gave a harsh laugh. "You mean why did they lock me up?" Harper nodded. "I was-I am a scientist. I'm no criminal! I was studying new life forms. I came across a planet inhabited by an extremely primitive civilization. However, they were sentient, and I decided to watch them. I was stupid back then. I thought I could change things, make a difference!" His eyes hardened. "I was a fool. I noticed one specific alien, who seemed like a kindred soul. She...she touched me and my life. I wanted something better for her! In the end, I took her away with me. We were happy for a while, me showing her what was possible, and her showing me what life was really about. But finally, the government caught up with us. They took me here, and I can only hope that she escaped, too." Sheen finally grew silent, his appearance more tired than before. Still, he seemed a little relieved. Harper decided to try again.  
  
"Mr. Sheen, can you tell me who these people are?" He put the images of the two aliens on the screen, along with the one of Sheen himself.  
  
The man let out a grimace of a smile. "Those are Trance's children." Harper sat down in shock, his eyes wide. Sheen laughed at his reaction. "Don't get any foolish ideas, young man. They aren't mine! No, we left them on the planet."  
  
"I can't believe Trance would leave her children behind," Harper mumbled.  
  
"Wait, you know her? Where is she? How is she?"  
  
"She, uh, Trance is fine, I guess. We don't really know much about her. As for where, she's on a high guard ship, doing pretty well for herself. We just, found this disc, and were curious."  
  
"Well then what are you asking me for? You have your answers right there! But, son? Don't be angry about her children. They abandoned her a long time before she left them." With that last message, Sheen turned off his side of the com. link. Oh man, thought Harper, I gotta tell Tyr!!!  
  



	5. Part Cinq

To Garnet, for giving me the best motivator ever; guilt! seriously guys, I'm sorry this took so long. i've been sick. Aw, enough with the self-pity! we want a story! Alright, Garnet, here you go! (Oh, and I've already written #6!)  
  
Part 5  
Trance was in her room, humming a song to herself. Her easel was erect, and she was painting a picture of the Andromeda in front of a red giant. She was in a good mood despite her monkey's cold. She had picked him up at one of the planets they had visited, and just had to have him! He was purple, like her, and fluffy all over. Kind of like…no, she wouldn't go there. That was another time on another planet. Now she had friends and family! Nothing could ruin her new life. Just when she had mixed the perfect color, her door opened. Trance whirled around to see Harper and Tyr walk into her room. What was it lately that had people intruding on her privacy?  
  
Plastering a grin on her face Trance asked, "Hi guys, what's up?"  
  
"Well, uh, you see, Trance," Harper started.  
  
"We want answers," Tyr said softly. "We tried your disc, Adromeda's records, even Sheen, but you seem to be the only one who can help us."  
  
Trance pointedly ignored the name he gave and rolled her eyes. "I can't tell you if I don't know what you want!"  
  
"I think you know what we want," said Harper. "Trance baby, just who exactly is Sheen, and why did he say you had children?"  
  
Trance froze. She knew they would ask, she just hadn't imagined them being so close to the truth. "What's wrong with children? I thought it was one of the things humans and Nietzscheans agreed on."  
  
"Trance, just how old are you?"  
  
"Well," she said, "you judge age in terms of years, correct? And a year is how long it takes your planet to rotate around its sun. If that were applied to me, I would be eight years old."  
  
"Trance, quit trying to avoid us!" Harper said, tired of her game. "There have been regulated years for a while now. How old are you according to those?"  
  
"You weren't specific enough, Harper. Anyway, age is irrelevant."  
  
"Trance…"Tyr said warningly.  
  
"Alright alright!" she sat down on the strangely warm grass and plucked a few blades. "I am twenty-three. And how old are you, Tyr Anasazi?"  
  
"Twenty-eight," Tyr said without blinking. "That is not important. Was Sheen truthful? Do you have two children?"  
  
"Do you mean, have I given birth twice?"   
  
The two men couldn't see how this mattered. "Children are children, Trance!" Harper said.  
  
"Well then yes. I have two children."  
  
"For once Trance, can't you give us a full answer? No more three word sentences. We want to know what happened!"   
Trance's eyes turned cold. "Do you really? And if you do, what does it matter? I'm sure Dylan and Beka have things about them that you don't know, but you're not asking them! Why should I answer?"  
  
Tyr leaned in very low and said, "Because we. are asking. you."  
  
Trance sighed, frowned, and began her explanation.  



	6. Part Six (Yes, thats how you spell it!)

I hope no one is disappointed! oh, I just watched "Forced Perspective," and I'm completely ignoring Trance's premoniton thing. And...I hope I spelled names right! Please tell me if I didn't, so I can change things.  
  
  
Part 6  
  
"My species has no name for our planet. We have no name for ourselves. We are just that: we. Our ways were-are very…what was the word Rommie used? Oh-behind. We gather fruit from bushes, vegetables from our gardens, and sleep in trees. We live on the ground, walking upright most of the time. You seemed surprised that I have had two children already. Well, so was my tribe. You see, no female has ever lived as long as me." By now Trance seemed to talk to herself.  
  
"Our purpose is to grow into women, and bear child. Every time the mother has died. I survived not one but two births, and was fine after the second. We didn't believe in monogamy. We saw it as a chance to mix our genes. Of course, we didn't know what genes were, but we had figured out that children carry their parent's characteristics.  
  
"After Jenna was born, my tribe saw it as a miracle. I was fourteen, the normal age for childbirth, and a powerful male had chosen me. I was very proud, as was my father. They wanted me to have another child right away, but my father wouldn't let me. We waited two years and I had Siobhan. "When I lived after that, the father announced that I was a demon. He said women weren't supposed to live that long. My father protected me for awhile, and I kept Siobhan with me. I didn't want her isolated, but the other children started making fun of her. When she was four, Jenna's father took her. I was heartbroken, but it was clear neither daughter wished to live with me. Word spread to other tribes and my father couldn't take it. He fled, and I never saw him.  
  
"By then Sheen had come, hoping to observe our 'backward ways'. I showed him my planet, and eventually we fell in love. He asked me to go with him on his starship. My tribe threw minna fruit at us when we left, saying he was a demon come to take me away. Sheen showed me everything, and there was so much I didn't know. Eventually he explained that he had committed a crime, and his own people were coming after him. I begged him to stay with me, we could hide somewhere." Trance smiled bitterly. "He called me his Naïve Gemini. He taught me how to find things, and how to give them to other people in exchange for 'gifts'. Basically, steal, although I still don't like that word. Harper, when I 'died' that time with the Nightsider, the same thing happened as when I had my children. I don't know how I lived, yet it still made me somewhat of an outsider. I guess now I'll either be a miracle or a demon, huh?"  
  
Harper moved to take her in his lap while Tyr stared at the ground in concentration.   
  
"There are no miracles or demons, Trance. Only us and logic."  
  
  
Ending!! Sequel, anyone?  



End file.
